Stephen Martin

PHYS 210
Homework #1

Question 1:
A particle starts at rest and moves along a cycloid whose equation is
   p 
1 a y 2
x = a cos + 2ay y
a
There is a gravitational field of strength g in the negative y direction. Obtain and solve
the equations of motion. Show that no matter where on the cycloid the particle starts out
at time t = 0, it will reach the bottom at the same time.

Solution:
We start by defining an angle :
 
1 ay
= cos
a
Defining x and y in terms of ,
y =a(1 cos )
x = a ( + sin )
The potential and kinetic energies are given by
U =mgy
=mga(1 cos )

1
T = m(x 2 + y 2 )
2
1 h i
= m a2 2 (1 + cos )2 + a2 2 sin2
2
=ma2 2 (1 + cos )
Continuing with the Lagrangian:
L =T U
=ma2 2 (1 + cos ) mga(1 cos )

L
= ma2 2 sin mga sin

d L + cos ) 2ma2 2 sin
=2ma2 (1
dt
1
2

Thus,

+ cos ) ma2 2 sin + mga sin = 0

2ma2 (1

Noticing that = dd :
d h i
2ma2 (1 + cos ) = ma2 2 mga sin
d

Z
2d
Z
sin d
=
2 g/a 1 + cos

 g
ln 2 = ln (1 + cos ) + C
a

C g
2 = +
1 + cos a
Because the particle starts at rest, we can set the boundary conditions x|
t=0 = 0 and y = 0.
Solving for C:
g(1 + cos 0 )
C=
a
And our equation becomes  
2 = g 1 1 + cos 0
a 1 + cos
We can now integrate to solve for :
Z r
d g
q = t+D
1 1+cos 0 a
1+cos

Z  1/2 r
1 + cos g
d = t+D
cos cos 0 a

1/2
sin2
Z  r
g
d = t+D
(cos cos 0 )(1 cos ) a

Z r
sin d g
p = t+D
(cos cos 0 )(1 cos ) a
 3

Z r
du g
p = t+D
u2 + (1 + cos 0 )u cos 0 a

" # r
1 2u + 1 + cos 0 g
sin p = t+D
(1 + cos 0 )2 4 cos 0 a

  r
2 cos + 1 + cos 0
1 g
sin = t+D
1 cos 0 a
Using our boundary conditions once more:
1 cos 0
= sin D
1 cos 0

D=
2
Rearranging, we finally have
r 
g
2 cos + 1 + cos 0 = (1 cos 0 ) sin t+
a 2

r 
1 cos 0 g 1 + cos 0
cos = cos t +
2 a 2
Changing back from to y
r 
y0 g 2a y0
a y = cos t +
2 a 2

r 
y0 g y0
y= cos t +
2 a 2
At the bottom of the arc, y = 0, so r
a
t=
g
which is independent of y0 .
4

Question 2:
A point particle of mass m is constrained to move frictionlessly on the inside of a circular
wire hoop of radius r, uniform density and mass M . The hoop is constrained to the xy-
plane, it can roll on a fixed line (the x-axis), but it does not slide, nor can it lose contact
with the x-axis.

The point particle is acted on by gravity exerting a force along the negative y-axis. At
t = 0 suppose the hoop is at rest. At this time the particle is at the top of the hoop, and
is a given velocity v0 along the x-axis.

What is the velocity vf , with respect to the fixed axis, when the particle comes to the
bottom of the hoop? Simplify your answer in the limits m/M 0 and M/m 0.

Solution: Using generalized coordinates x (center of hoop horizontal position) and

(angle between particle and top of hoop), the coordinates of the particle are given by
xm =x + r sin
ym =r(1 + cos )
We then have

U =mgym + M gr
=mgr(1 + cos ) + M gr

1 1 1
T = m(x 2m + y m
2
) + M (x 2M + y M
2
) + IM
2 2 2
 2
1 h 2 2
i 1
2 1 2 x
= m (x + r cos ) + (r sin ) + M x + (M r )
2 2 2 r
1 h 2 i
= m x + 2xr cos + r2 2 + M x 2
2
The Lagrangian is
1 h i
cos + r2 2 + M x 2 mgr(1 + cos ) M gr
L = m x 2 + 2xr
2
The equation of motion for x is determined by
d L L
=0
dt x x
But L does not depend on x, so L/ x = C

(m + 2M )x + mr cos = C
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Solve for C using boundary conditions x(0)

= 0 and x m (0) = r cos = v0 :
C = mv0
(m + 2M )x + mr cos mv0 = 0 (1)

We now take a look at the equation for :

d L L
=0
dt

sin + mr2 = mxr

xr cos mxr
m sin + mgr sin

cos + r g sin =0
x

= g tan r sec
x (2)

However, equation (1) gave us

(m + 2M )x mv0 = mr cos

Multiplying equations (1) and (2):

= mrg sin + mr2

x mv0 x
(m + 2M )x

1 d d 1 d
=mrg (cos ) + mr2 (2 )
(m + 2M ) (x 2 ) mv0 x
2 dt dt 2 dt

Integrating with respect to t:

1 1
(m + 2M )x 2 mv0 x = mrg cos + mr2 2 + D
2 2
We use our initial conditions to solve for D:

mv02
D = mrg
2
Reducing our equation of motion to

m + 2M 2
x 2v0 x = 2rg cos + r2 2 2rg v02 (3)
m
6

Now, we simply look at equations (1) and (3) for the case of = :

m + 2M 2
x 2v0 x + v02 =r2 2 4rg
m

m + 2M
x v0 =r
m

This set of equations is solved by

" s  #
m m + 2M
x = v0 + v02 + 2rg
m + 2M M

s  
1 m + 2M
= v02 + 2rg
r M
(Note: there are 2 solutions to this quadratic set of equations, but the solution was chosen
so that > 0, which is the only physical solution that makes sense)

From here, we can find x m |= :

x m =x r

s  
mv0 2M m + 2M
= v02 + 2rg
m + 2M m + 2M M

In the limiting case m/M 0,

q
x m = v02 + 4rg

which is what we would expect from a similar system with a fixed hoop. In the limiting
case of M/m 0,

x m = v0

which is simply a requirement of the conservation of linear momentum.

 7

Question 3:
A double plane pendulum consists of a simple pendulum (mass m1 , length l1 ) with another
simple pendulum (mass m2 , length l2 ) suspended from m1 , both constrained to move in
the same vertical plane.

(a) Describe the configuration manifold Q of this dynamical system. Say what you
can about TQ.

(b) Write down the Lagrangian of the system in suitable coordinates.

(c) Derive Lagranges equations.

Solution:
(a) The configuration manifold Q lies on the surface of a torus defined by
x =(l1 + l2 cos 2 ) cos 1
y =(l1 + l2 cos 2 ) sin 1
z =l2 sin 2
That is, the distance from the center of the ring to the center of the pipe is l1 and the
radius of the pipe is l2 .

The tangent bundle TQ is 4-dimensional, so it is difficult to visualize, but it simply maps

the tangent plane at each point on torus Q.

(b) The natural choice for the generalized coordinates for this system are 1 and 2 ,
the angles made by each pendulum with the y-axis.
x1 =l1 sin 1
y1 = l1 cos 1
x2 =l1 sin 1 + l2 sin 2
y2 = l1 cos 1 l2 cos 2

x 1 =l1 cos 1 1
y 1 =l1 sin 1 1
x 2 =l1 cos 1 1 + l2 cos 2 2
y 2 =l1 sin 1 1 + l2 sin 2 2
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The Lagrangian is then:

L =T U

 2 
1 2 2 1
2 

= m1 l1 1 + m2 l1 cos 1 1 + l2 cos 2 2 + l1 sin 1 1 + l2 sin 2 2
2 2
+ m1 gl1 cos 1 + m2 g (l1 cos 1 + l2 cos 2 )

1 1 h i
= m1 l12 12 + m2 l12 12 + l22 22 + 2l1 l2 1 2 cos(1 2 )
2 2
+ (m1 + m2 )gl1 cos 1 + m2 gl2 cos 2

(c) We start with the equation for 1 :

d L L
=0
dt 1 1

(m1 + m2 )l12 1 + 2l1 l2 2 cos(1 2 ) 2l1 l2 2 (1 2 ) sin(1 2 )

+ (m1 + m2 )gl1 sin 1 = 0

The equation for 2 is given by

d L L
=0
dt 2 2

m2 l22 2 + 2l1 l2 1 cos(1 2 ) 2l1 l2 1 (1 2 ) sin(1 2 )

+ m2 gl2 sin 2 = 0
 9

Question 4:
A cartesian coordinate system with axes x,y,z is rotating relative to an inertial frame with
constant angular velocity about the z-axis. A particle of mass m moves under a force
whose potential is V (x, y, z). Set up the Lagrange equations of motion in the coordinate
system x, y, z. Show that these equations are the same as those for a particle in a fixed co-
ordinate system acted on by the force V and a force derivable from a velocity-dependent
potential U , and find U .

Solution:
In the coordinates x, y, z, the Lagrangian is given by
1
L = m[x 2 + y 2 + z 2 ] V (x, y, z)
2
So the equations of motion are
V
m
x+ =0
x
V
m
y+ =0
y
V
m
z+ =0
z

The coordinate transformations are:

x0 =x cos t y sin t
y 0 =x sin t + y cos t
z 0 =z

x 0 =(x y) cos t (y + x) sin t

y 0 =(x y) sin t + (y + x) cos t

The Lagrangian for these coordinates is

1
L = m[(x y)2 + (y + x)2 + z 2 ] V (x, y, z)
2

1 1
= m[x 2 + y 2 + z 2 ] + m[ 2 x2 + 2 y 2 2y x + 2xy]
V (x, y, z)
2 2
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The equations of motion are

V
x m y m 2 x m y +
m =0
x
V
y + m x m 2 y + m x +
m =0
y
V
mz+ =0
z

V
x m 2 x 2m y +
m =0
x
V
y m 2 y + 2m x +
m =0
y
V
mz+ =0
z

This shows us that

V V V
F =(m 2 x + 2m y x + (m 2 y 2m x
) y
) z
x y z

=F V

We can now consider a potential energy U where

F = U

U = (m 2 x + 2m y)
x (m 2 y 2m x)
y

1 1
U = m 2 x2 m 2 y 2 2mxy + 2my x
2 2

1
U = m 2 (x2 + y 2 ) + 2m(y x xy)

2